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This is Gracelyn Keller with the Becker's Healthcare

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Podcast, and we are recording live at the

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twenty second annual Spine Orthopedic and Pain Management

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Conference.

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I'm currently joined by Doctor. Alison Engel, who

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is experienced in small independent practices as well

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as large corporate structures, and she's here to

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share some of her insights today.

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So Doctor. Engel, thank you for being here.

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Thank you for having me. And let's just

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jump right in and start our conversation off

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with what trends or shifts you're currently seeing

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right now in the industry that you think

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are most important for industry leaders to pay

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attention to.

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Yes. That's a great question. We've been seeing

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a lot of,

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denials, especially in the pain space. So I'm

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an interventional pain physician and anesthesiologist.

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And so we're seeing

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a lot of difficulty in getting reimbursements

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or prior auths for commercial insurance payers.

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And so we have seen a shift of

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a lot of practices

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moving towards or trying to move towards

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workers' comp, PI,

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or

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concierge type of medicine

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for the revenue streams and to increase their

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profitability.

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And staffing and workforce challenges also continue to

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be a concern across healthcare. So how is

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your organization,

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navigating these pressures, and what strategies have you

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seen work well? You know, this is a

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great question because I have been in a

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lot of places. And one,

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overall theme I've seen at the ones that

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work the best, that have a great operational

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team is getting

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a vibe of good people, everyone being on

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the same page, bringing positive energy,

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and

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leaning into each person's passions or where they

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really do well.

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I think the the hard part when staffing

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comes up is when people don't feel respected

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or appreciated

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or feel like there's a a value for

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them in the organization. So I think those

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key those three key things help our team

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members feel

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supported. And it we've got a great team

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now, and it's, everyone works together very well.

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And as outpatient care continues to grow, how

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do you see the role of orthopedics and

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ASCs evolving within the broader healthcare ecosystem?

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I I really see on the ground,

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that private practices are merging and condensing with

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other, maybe primary care, rheumatology,

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orthopedics,

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pain, spine.

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These groups of physicians trying to get together

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to help keep their

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key players in house and to give the

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patients other options to keep them within their

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organization rather than referring them out. And a

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lot of times, that's helpful by some of

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the key people on the ground knowing of

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what the patient needs. Like, when the patient

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checks out,

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they are able to help tell you in

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your organization what patients are looking for because

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not always

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is it documented or is it in the

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data analysis that we see. So we utilize

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everybody in the company to kinda help gather

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us

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gather our thoughts and give give us a

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give each of the patients a voice of

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where what their needs really are.

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And then finally,

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many organizations are exploring new technologies,

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partnerships, or care models to improve efficiency and

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outcomes. So are there any innovations or initiatives

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that you found particularly promising?

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You know, a lot of the

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a lot of the private practices are merging

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with others or selling to private equity in

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order to afford those costs of advanced technology,

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advanced AI. I think we're gonna see some

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more of that as people

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want to

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have those AI tools, and they're probably gonna

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be quite expensive for small private practices, but

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everyone's gonna gear towards them. And I think

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we'll also, though, still need that human touch,

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that human component. And so there will be

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a balance of that.

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And is there anything else you'd like to

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share that we didn't touch on today?

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I think it's important for us to just

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kinda

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take a step back and see where health

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care is going. We see a lot of

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advancement in AI and technology

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that's helping the health care system.

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But we're also seeing people move, patients in

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particular,

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wanting that concierge

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type of model and willing to pay cash

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for it.

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And so we we can't forget that human

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touch when we also talk about the AI

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component. I think, eventually, we'll have a good

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merge

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and, a balanced approach to health care. So

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I think it's a positive future outlook.

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Absolutely. Well, doctor Engle, thank you so much

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for joining me today on the Becker's Healthcare

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Podcast and sharing these insights. Again, we are

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recording live at the twenty second annual Spine

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Orthopedic and Pain Management

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Conference.

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Great. Thank you for having me.